Hey, I just wanted to give a quick heads up my next few days are supper busy, so I just wanted to say that I can't post until Thurday night, at which point i will do all my post, but I feel obligated to make my PPV match the number one priority. Just wanted to give a quick heads up.

Cassie was taken aback. Mamouru thought she was amazing? She was at once embarrassed and knotted up and confused and incredibly flattered. Still, she just couldn't stand that Mamouru thought of himself as his own victim. She wanted to slap him, or something, but she'd just feel really bad about it.

"How do you have to live with it?" Cassie shot back, her adolescent voice breaking under the pressure. "Do you have to do things that way? The guy who brought the food could probably tell that you're not really a bad guy, but the things that you told me are things that a bad guy does. You're smart and nice and... good looking, and I don't know why you feel like you have to live with those things. Just tell her what you've been doing and how you really feel and show her enough respect to let her make up her own mind once she has all the facts. It's her life, too, she deserves to know what you really want. Right?"

Cassie couldn't stay angry for long. She had already cooled off, and instead of yelling at him she could only encourage him, persuade him, maybe appeal to his conscience and hope for the best. She wanted to help him, that's all. That was it.

Mamouru looked up at Cassie as she spoke again. He then glanced away from her. Of course he didn't HAVE to do the things he did. But there was a part of him that LIKED it as well. He just wasn't sure if that part was more who he was than the person he had been with Cassie for the evening. He WAS a pretty decent guy all things considered. It was just... the usury.

"You mean Cecelia-san?" He asked, assuming Cassie was talking about his girlfriend." He let out a sharp but soft laugh. "She knows... the kind of person I am." He said. He then turned his head. "She's... the same way, I guess. Probably why we're together. We're playing a little game of chicken to see who flinches first." He winced inwardly. Why was he telling Cassie this? She didn't need to know. She probably didn't WANT to know.

Mamouru stood up again and looked at Cassie. "Listen I-" He stopped and sat back down and looked up at Cassie again. He didn't know why but having her in the room suddenly made his body feel heavy. Like he was being crushed by a weight that he could not shrug off. Why though? He felt really tired suddenly. Not tired but fatigued. wrestling with himself had drained him considerably.

"Well..." Cassie didn't know what else to say. She also felt drained. Stuck. Like whatever the problem was here, exactly, it would never be resolved, so why bother? That wasn't the right attitude, though. It wasn't right to just give up, but what else could she do now?

"I guess you guys are a good fit, or something." Whatever Mamouru thought about Cassie, it wasn't real. Maybe he liked what she did for him, but there was no way he could really mean what he said about her. He played games with girls and tried to get what he wanted out of them. Cassie wasn't his kind of girl. That was okay, though... Cassie could still be his friend. It seemed like he needed that much.

"We don't have to keep talking about this. I know it's not a fun topic or anything." She said, trying to brush the tension aside. She lifted her arms over her head like a ballerina and pirouetted neatly, smiled nervously, and then sat down on the floor.

"I guess..." Mamouru muttered back. He fidgeted with his hands until Cassie shifted and twirled and ended up on the floor. He smiled at her , even when she spoke. "Yeah... maybe it's not very fun." He said "But necessary things aren't always fun." He added.

"Ahah..." He let out a light but nervous chuckle. "I won't keep on going if it bothers you. That wouldn't be right. We should be uplifting, right?" He raised an eyebrow curiously at her and smiled. Should they be? Cassie would be so it seemed like Mamouru should be as well. He looked over at Cassie. He sort of felt the same. Was he gravitating towards her because she filled a hole or because he genuinely liked her? Even if he did like her it's not like he could pursue it. That would be stupid. But then again, he had chosen to act this way towards her rather than how he usually did. He just couldn't figure out why he had, even from the beginning. Maybe Cassie would know?

Mamouru stood up and scooted next to Cassie and looked her over. "Hey." He said and laughed a little. "Cassie-san..." He blushed and then turned his head. "Why do you think I decided to treat you differently than other girls?" He asked genuinely. "It wasn't because I thought you were a kid." He said right out. "So, then why?"

Cassie sat cross legged on the floor. She bobbed lightly back and forth, as if swaying to some calming inner music, a faint serene smile on her face. It was weird to her, sometimes, how she always just snapped back into her usualy state of endless optimism. She felt like nothing could keep her down, because nothing could touch the place where her attitude came from. Everything was going to be alright, even if everything wasn't right at the moment. It was okay.

She was staring off into space, listening to Mamouru without giving the appearance of it. Without realizing it, she was humming softly to herself. She looked up as if Mamouru sliding over next to her had roused her from a daydream, and she smiled at him and listened while he spoke.

She didn't answer right away. "Um..." She sang, and looked off at the floor for a moment. He did treat her differently, didn't he? Why did he do that? Cassie wore a bright little smile when she looked back at him.

She leaned in toward him and pressed her lips against his. She couldn't believe she was doing it, but once her lips found the soft warmth of his, she relaxed. It felt... amazing. A thrill ran down her spine and her palms quickly became clammy.

It was over as quickly as it began. She pulled back, and looked directly into Mamouru's eyes, watching carefully for his reaction.

Time seemed to slow down when Mamouru waited for Cassie to respond. He had a smile on his face but it slowly began to fade once the seconds passed. Cassie looked pleasant, happy, cheerful and it was hard for Mamouru to completely allow his smile to fade. Still he felt nervous. Did he finally say the wrong thing?

He didn't know and her small little attempt at an answer didn't help. She pushed forward, he was expecting a slap, for some reason. It was just what he was used to. but instead, the absolute last thing he expected happened.

His eyes widened as her lips pressed against hers. Those wet, supple lips. His eyelids screamed to close, to take in the moment but at the same moment, he thought that this couldn't be real and he had to watch it and probably pinch himself afterwards. His own lips pursed just after she pulled away and his mouth opened. He leaned forward to extend the kiss just a moment longer but didn't pursue her further.

His cheeks were red and his mouth hung open. He was silent for a long moment and now that the kiss was over, he was having trouble looking Cassie in the eyes.

His hand reached out and offered it to Cassie for her to take with her own. His eyebrows knit as he tried to think about what to say. His head swirled with many thoughts.

"Cassie-san." He said finally lifting his eyes to look at her. "Is ... that a road you really want to go down?" He didn't like saying those words but he swallowed hard and then smiled softly. "That's.. a difficult road. But... you know that, right?" Mamouru ran his hands through his hair. "I have... a lot of work to do, you know?" He said still blushing. "But..." He smiled a little wider. "We have a lot of time to figure things out, whatever that is or whatever it may turn out to be." His heart was beating so hard he thought it was deafening him even though he looked so calm. "Even if it's just a friendship..." Mamouru was panting softly now. "Let's just ... make sure that... um... It's something we can ... um... both be proud of, ok?"

Shit, that sounded ridiculously cheesy. Cassie wouldn't buy that sort of crap at all. But, It was how Mamouru really felt. He didn't want to ruin what he had with Cassie but he wasn't exactly sure WHAT it was. Still, no matter what, he had to remain honest with Cassie. Ding that had been one of the best decisions of his life.

Cassie hadn't really thought it all the way through, but in the moment kissing Mamouru felt like the thing to do. A part of her wanted to just lose her nerve and run away, but the better part didn't.

"Well, does that answer your question?" She asked. She wasn't sure if he's get what she meant. She wasn't asking him if he just wanted her physically. Or if he just wanted her in general. She thought that maybe if he really did like her, which at this point she believed that he did, and he knew she wasn't available for his usual shallow purposes, then maybe he liked her for better reasons than just what he could use her for. Maybe he liked her because she let him in but not the usual masks that he wore. Cassie imagined that it would feel good to be genuine for once.

"Um, I dunno..." Cassie said. She was calm, but unsure of herself. "I don't know if I want to go down any road right now, but I think maybe that you feel something for me that's really neat, and... Maybe you can figure out what it is and why. So... friendship. We're friends now. And that's good."

She really didn't have a plan. At that moment, she was content to sit on the floor with Mamouru and see if her being there would help him figure out the things that he needed to figure out.

Mamouru let out a sigh when Cassie spoke. It felt like one of relief but he wasn't sure. It was deep and satisfying. He looked up at Cassie and smiled. "Yes..." He said softly. "I guess it does." He then looked downward. "Maybe I do.' He said. "Maybe there was just something there." He looked up and nodded to Cassie.

"That sounds good. Maybe sometime I'll.we'll get to see if that was the case but I'm happy right now just being here with you, as friends, Cassie-san." He then looked around the room. "There's a lot I have to consider but..." He looked at Cassie and smiled genuinely. Mamouru then suddenly stood up and grabbed Cassie's hand pulled her up into a hug. "Thank you..." He whispered and then pulled her to arms length and looked at her.

"There are ways we can support each other now." He said. "As friends. I think that would be nice." He hoped she'd agree. "Like getting you into the big time. I think that's something we could definitely accomplish if you wanted my help."

"You're welcome." Cassie said and hugged Mamouru back. She smiled and nodded and slowly made her way up to her feet.

"Yeah, I mean I didn't come all this way to just sort of... suck. I'm better than that, right? I mean, I won every Jiu Jitsu competition I ever did. That means something. I... know I'm too nice in the ring. I just don't like hurting people, which I know sounds dumb considering. I don't mind competing, but I really just can't be mean. But yeah, I'd love your help! That'd be so awesome! I kinda... already have a manager, but... I think he's been real busy with his other girls. He manages Eclipse and all those girls, and he doesn't really have a lot of time for me, so... He probably wouldn't even notice it if I fired him. He hasn't even got me any matches, really.

"I'm not saying that you'd have to manage me, ya know, but however you want to help, or something... Whatever you want to do, right? It'll be fun! I sew all my costumes myself, so if you think we can make it better or whatever I can do all that, and we can think about everything, like... what to call myself, and how I should act and... I dunno. what do you think? Um..."

Cassie suddenly stopped as if she'd just remembered something. She looked back and forth and scratched her head. She looked like she wanted to go somewhere but couldn't decide on a direction. Her eyebrows lifted nervously.

Mamouru listened carefully to Cassie's words. Her enthusiasm was quite infectious and he was eager to jump into the fray. But then when she asked about the bed, Mamouru's eyes raised. "Oh!" He said and nodded. "Yes. I'll call them. They should have brought it with the food."

Mamouru then rang for the bed. When he was finished, he looked at Cassie with a smile. "I suppose it is getting late. I have some ideas I can share with you but maybe we can talk about them tomorrow." He looked at the bed and then around the room. "I'll shower while the bed is coming, if you don't mind?" He said and looked towards the bathroom. "Unless that is something you need to do, then I can wait."